Syringe with needle destroying means

ABSTRACT

A syringe is provided with a piston rod having a chamber offset from the longitudinal axis of the rod for receiving a syringe needle for destroying it and a head having a recess coaxial with the rod for receiving a distal portion of the syringe barrel. After use, the needle is inserted into the offset chamber and the distal end of the barrel is inserted into the recess of the head to align the barrel with the rod, and the barrel and rod are rotated relative to each other for twisting the needle about the axis of the rod.

United States Patent m1 Koenig [52] U.S. Cl. 225/1; 225/93; 225/102;

l28/2l8; 206/223 [51] Int. Cl B26f 3/00 [58] Field of Search 225/], 93,94, 102, 104

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/l957 Beanum 225/l02 X6/l973 Dunnican et al. 225/93 X [4 1 July 8,1975

R. OMeara [57] ABSTRACT A syringe is provided with a piston rod having achamber offset from the longitudinal axis of the rod for receiving asyringe needle for destroying it and a head having a recess coaxial withthe rod for receiving a distal portion of the syringe barrel. After use,the needle is inserted into the offset chamber and the distal end of thebarrel is inserted into the recess of the head to align the barrel withthe rod,and the barrel and rod are rotated relative to each other fortwisting the nee- (lie about the axis of the rod.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PNEHTEHJUL 8 1975 illlm SYRINGE WITH NEEDLEDESTROYING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates tosyringes and more particularly to disposable syringes adapted to bedestroyed before disposal.

Disposable or single-use hypodermic syringes are extensively used in themedical field because they are packaged in sterile condition and readyfor immediate use. It is, of course, important to provide for thedisposal of single-use syringes so that they cannot be reused byunauthorized persons. To properly perform and encourage the destructionof such used syringes, the destruction must be capable of beingaccomplished safely, easily and conveniently.

While a member of the syringe package, such as a sheath, is convenientlyused, the destruction is not always accomplished in a safe and easymanner. For example, in some cases, the needle is relatively difficultto break, since it often requires considerable back-andforth bending.This requires time and effort on the part of the user and, in somecases, is dangerous. These difficulties tend to discourage completedestruction of the needle by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the presentinvention to provide a syringe having means for safely, easily andconveniently rendering the needle unusable after use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a packaged syringewherein a member thereof is usable to safely and easily break thesyringe needle to prevent reuse of the syringe.

Still another object is to provide a relatively simple and safe methodof destroying the syringe needle after use.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a member of apackaged syringe is provided with a chamber having at least a portionoffset from the longitudinal axis of the member for holding a portion ofa bent syringe needle that is offset from the normal axis of the needlefor rotating the needle portion relative to the syringe barrel uponrelative rotation between the member and the barrel.

These, as well as other features and advantages of the presentinvention, will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionand accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to likeparts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is an elevational sectional viewof a packaged hypodermic syringe in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the packagedsyringe of FIG. 1 but with the cover removed and an ampoule disposed inthe syringe;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, illustrating thesyringe of FIG. 2 in condition for use;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, illustrating initialinsertion of the needle into the piston rod of the syringe during thedestruction of the needle;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, illustrating theposition of the needle after it has been fully inserted into the pistonrod; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a portion of thepiston rod containing the needle after the needle has been broken.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawingsand particularly to FIG. I, a packaged syringe 10 is shown including abarrel 12 having a double-ended cannula or hollow needle 14 fixed to thedistal end of the barrel and provided with a needle sheath 16 which maybe integrally formed with the barrel and connected by an easily brokensection 15 at its upper end. A hollow piston rod 18 is shown closing theproximal end of barrel 12 and may be spot-welded to the barrel. A cover20 is shown enclosing the piston rod 18 and may be connected by aspot-weld to the piston rod. Where cover 20 is used, it may beconveniently provided with a label. The abovementioned welds arerelatively easily broken by relative rotataion between the syringepackage members and provide an indication, when present, that thepackage was not previously opened. The syringe barrel 12 is adapted toreceive a medicament-containing cartridge or ampoule 22, as seen inFIGS. 2 and 3. The ampoule 22 includes a cap 24 having a pierceablerubber diaphragm therein closing the distal end of the ampoule, and apiston 26, such as an internally threaded rubber piston, sealinglyengaging the walls of the ampoule above the medicament. Thus, in theillustrated embodiment, the packaged syringe I0 includes the barrel l2and piston rod 18 that form a cartridge-type syringe which, whenassembled with ampoule 22 as seen in FIG. 3, is in condition for use.

The piston rod performs multiple functions which will become apparenthereinafter. The piston rod includes a cylindrical shank 27 and anenlarged cylindrical head 28 having a cylindrical recess or bore 30which is sized to slidingly receive the proximal end of barrel 12, asseen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Recess 30 has a bottom wall 32 having a centrallylocated hole 34. The piston rod 18 is provided with a pair of holesshown as elongated passageways or chambers 36 and 38 which are closed atthe bottom and are off-center or displaced from the longitudinal axis ofthe piston rod but open into hole 34 and recess 30. In cross-section, asseen in FIG. 4, each of the holes or chambers 36 and 38 is arcuate andseparated by a central core portion 40 so that they are completelyclosed except where they open into hole 34. Either of these chambers areadapted to be used in destroying the needle I4 after it has been used,as shown in FIGS. 5-7 to be described. The upper end of rod 18, as seenin FIG. I, is provided with an integral threaded stud 42 which isadapted to be connected with the piston 26 (FIG. 3) during use of thesyringe.

In using the syringe, the piston rod 18 and cover 20 are separated fromeach other and from barrel l2, and the ampoule 22 is inserted into thebreech end of barrel 12, the upper end of the ampoule extending abovethe upper end of the barrel. The piston rod 18 is then positioned sothat the recess 30 receives the upper end of the ampoule 22 and barrel12. The piston rod is then moved downwardly, as seen in FIG. 2, relativeto the barrel 12 so that the bottom wall 32 engages the end of ampoule22 and causes the proximal pointed end of needle 14 to pierce thediaphragm of cap 24 and communicate with the medicament within theampoule. Next, the piston rod is removed from the position 3 shown inFIG. 2, inverted, and the stud 42 threaded into piston 26 as seen inFIG. 3. The sheath I6 may then be rotated relative to barrel 12 to breakits relatively fragile connection with the barrel. Barrel 12 is shownprovided with a radial flange 44 and the piston rod 18 is provided witha flange 46 at its proximal end for facilitating movement of the pistonrod and piston 26 during use of the syringe.

After the syringe has been used, destruction of the needle so that itcannot be used again is accomplished, in accordance with the illustratedembodiment. by first removing the piston rod 18 from the barrel I2 andinserting the distal end of needle I4 through the recess 30, opening 34and into one of the chambers 36 or 38, for example. into chamber 38 asseen in FIG. 5. The piston rod I8 and barrel 12 are then manually movedtoward each other. During this movement, the needle necessarily bends,generally in one direction and then in the other, with the distal end ofthe barrel 12 entering the recess 30 and being engaged and guided by thewalls of the recess, as indicated in FIG. 6. As the barrel 12 is forcedinto the recess, it becomes aligned with the recess, that is, thelongitudinal axis of the barrel becomes substantially coincident withthe axes of the recess 30 and shank 27 of the piston rod. This producesa severe bend as indicated at 50 which may cause the needle to break orbecome separated from the needle ferrule and barrel. To insure that theneedle has been broken and to break it if it has not previously beenbroken upon axial movement of the barrel into the piston rod asdescribed, the barrel I2 is grasped with one hand and the piston rod 18with the other and the two are rotated relative to each other. Thisrelative rotation causes a side wall of the chamber 38 (or core 40) toengage the portion of the needle which is offset from the normallongitudinal axis of the needle and which is disposed in the chamber 38,and rotate or twist it about the normal longitudinal axis of the needleand barrel. This causes the needle to break off if it was not previouslybroken. As seen in FIG. 7, the broken needle has been rotated 180 fromthe position shown in FIG. 6. With the syringe barrel closing theproximal end of the piston rod 18, the broken needle is retained in thepiston rod which may be discarded without danger of the needle beingreused.

With the radially innermost walls of each of the chambers 36 and 38radially outwardly of the longitudi nal axis of the rod 18, and theradially outermost walls of each chamber spaced inwardly from the outerperiphery of the rod, as is apparent from FIG. 4, at least a portion ofthe needle I4 is readily forced into and held in a position radiallyoffset from the axes of the rod and barrel for easy destruction.

The member I8, in addition to serving as a needle destroyer (FIGS. -7),serves as a piston rod (FIG. 3), serves to arm the syringe by moving theampoule axially in the barrel (FIG. 2), and also may serve as a coverwhere the cover 20 (FIG. 1) is not used.

The members of the packaged syringe, which include the barrel l2, sheath16, cover 20 and rod 18, may be formed of a suitable plastic such aspolypropylene. Also, a needle destroyer in accordance with the presentinvention may be used in association with various types of syringesother than that of the cartridge or fixed needle type. For example, thepresent invention may be used with syringes employing detachable, hubmounted needles.

While the core 40 of member 18 is shown extending over a major portionof the length of the shank 27, it may economically be shortened inlength. For example, the member 18 may be formed with the core 40extending downwardly from its upper end, as seen in FIG. 6, for only afraction of the length of the core shown. Also, in some cases, the coremay be provided with a central hole or chamber, that is, on thelongitudinal axis of the needle destroying member to receive the needlebefore use so that the needle destroying member can, in this way, beused as a needle sheath of a syringe package. Also, depending on thetype of syringe package, a needle destroying member having an offsetneedle destroying hole or chamber may be advantageously used although itis not constructed to perform one or more of the above-mentionedfunctions of member 18.

It is now apparent that there has been provided a novel needle destroyersuch as the piston rod 18, which is a member of the syringe package 10,and which is capable of safely, conveniently and very easily destroyinga syringe needle. It will be understood that various changes andmodifications to the embodiment illustrated and described herein may bemade without departing from the true spirit and the scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A packaged syringe comprising a plurality of members in axialalignment including a barrel, a needle connected to the distal end ofsaid barrel, a needle sheath covering said needle, and a piston rodconnectable with a piston for moving the piston in said barrel, one ofsaid plurality of members having a chamber offset from the axis of saidmembers to receive a portion of said needle for destroying the same, anda head with a recess open to said chamber and sized to receive a distalportion of said barrel after insertion of said needle into said chamberto guide said barrel into alignment with said one member, said chamberhaving a wall engageable with said needle for rotating said needleportion relative to said barrel upon relative rotation between saidbarrel and said one member.

2. The packaged syringe of claim I wherein said one member is a pistonrod having an end portion adapted for connection with a syringe pistonfor moving the piston in the syringe barrel.

3. The packaged syringe of claim I wherein said recess has a bottom wallengageable with the distal end of a medicament filled ampoule for movingthe ampoule distally in the syringe barrel for arming the syringe.

4. The packaged syringe of claim 3 wherein said one member comprises apiston rod connectable with a syringe piston for controlling themovement thereof in the syringe barrel in response to applied forces onsaid rod.

5. The packaged syringe of claim 1 wherein the radially innermost sidewall of said chamber is radially outwardly of the axis of said onemember.

6. The packaged syringe of claim 5 wherein said chamber is completelyclosed except that it is open to said recess.

7. A method of destroying a needle of a packaged hypodermic syringehaving a plurality of members in axial alignment, including a syringebarrel, a hypodermic needle connected to the distal end of said syringebarrel, a needle sheath removably covering said needle,

and rotating said one member and said barrel relative to each other totwist said needle about the axis of the barrel for breaking the same andrendering it useless.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of moving said one member andsyringe barrel relative to each other includes engaging the outerperiphery of the syringe barrel with the walls of said recess to effectsaid axial alignment.

1. A packaged syringe comprising a plurality of members in axialalignment including a barrel, a needle connected to the distal end ofsaid barrel, a needle sheath covering said needle, and a piston rodconnectable with a piston for moving the piston in said barrel, one ofsaid plurality of members having a chamber offset from the axis of saidmembers to receive a portion of said needle for destroying the same, anda head with a recess open to said chamber and sized to receive a distalportion of said barrel after insertion of said needle into said chamberto guide said barrel into alignment with said one member, said chamberhaving a wall engageable with said needle for rotating said needleportion relative to said barrel upon relative rotation between saidbarrel and said one member.
 2. The packaged syringe of claim 1 whereinsaid one member is a piston rod having an end portion adapted forconnection with a syringe piston for moving the piston in the syringebarrel.
 3. The packaged syringe of claim 1 wherein said recess has abottom wall engageable with the distal end of a medicament filledampoule for moving the ampoule distally in the syringe barrel for armingthe syringe.
 4. The packaged syringe of claim 3 wherein said one membercomprises a piston rod connectable with a syringe piston for controllingthe movement thereof in the syringe barrel in response to applied forceson said rod.
 5. The packaged syringe of claim 1 wherein the radiallyinnermost side wall of said chamber is radially outwardly of the axis ofsaid one member.
 6. The packaged syringe of claim 5 wherein said chamberis completely closed except that it is open to said recess.
 7. A methodof destroying a needle of a packaged hypodermic syringe having aplurality of members in axial alignment, including a syringe barrel, ahypodermic needle connected to the distal end of said syringe barrel, aneedle sheath removably covering said needle, and a piston rodconnectable with a piston for moving the piston in the barrel, one ofsaid members having a chamber offset from the axis of said one memberand a recess open to said chamber and coaxial with said one member,comprising the steps of inserting the hypodermic needle into the offsetchamber of said one member, moving said one member and syringe barreltoward each other with the walls of said recess effecting axialalignment between the barrel and said one member, and rotating said onemember and said barrel relative to each other to twist said needle aboutthe axis of the barrel for breaking the same and rendering it useless.8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of moving said one member andsyringe barrel relative to each other includes engaging the outerperiphery of the syringe barrel with the walls of said recess to effectsaid axial alignment.